Thai holy animal statues exhibited in Da Lat resort city

A pair of dragon and peacock statues made by Thai craftsmen are being put on show at the Love Valley tourist site in Da Lat resort city of Central Highland Lam Dong province.

The pair of statues are part of a collection of holy animals statues that 270 Thai artisans worked together throughout 369 days to create as a gift to Thai King Bhumibok Adulyadej on the occasion of his 85th birthday anniversary.

The statues are made of silver and bronze, plated with 24K gold and decorated with crystal and precious stones. The dragon statue measures 132cm high, 114cm wide and weighs 88.5kg, while the peacock is 170cm in height, 127cm in width, and weighs125kg.

The statues are exhibited together with gemstones originated from Thailand as well as bonsai and stone and wood sculpture works by Vietnamese artisans.

Da Lat is one of the most popular resort cities in Vietnam, which is surrounded by pine-covered hills, lakes, mountains. The town is dotted with many buildings in French architectural style. The Love Valley and Mong Mo (Dreamlike) Hill are among the most charming and romantic places for couples, especially in the Valentine Day (February 14).

Phu Tho Province strives to protect singing troupes

Authorities of the northern Phu Tho Province are exerting additional efforts to protect hat xoan (spring singing), which has been designated part of UNESCO's intangible heritage sites.

Folk in the road: Young people perform hat xoan (spring singing) at a temple in the northern province of Phu Tho. Local authorities are making additional efforts to protect the folk art. — Photo tasteofvietnam.vn

Ha Ke San, deputy chairman of Phu Tho People's Committee, said that the province would promote research, teaching, training and collection, as well as compiling information about the area's heritage.

"Activities of the hat xoan performance and popularisation will be promoted in the country. Simultaneously, a project to restore and preserve xoan relics will be started. In addition, an inventory of the xoan singing troupes in the province will be created," said San.

He further said that Phu Tho had financially supported the xoan singing troupes, including the art masters, to train staff and organise activities for the preservation of the heritage.

The provincial department of culture has been assigned to co-ordinate with the Viet Nam Music Academy and the Centre for Preservation and Development of Culture Heritage to research and collect ancient xoan songs. These will be recorded and publicised to serve as training and research materials, he said.

Other agencies will refer to these works in creating a plan involving the restoration, preservation and practice of the singing in four original xoan communities in Phu Duc, Kim Doi, Thet and An Thai, said San.

More than 60 veteran singers have taken part in teaching young artists, including 100 teenagers in those xoan communities, said renowned singer Nguyen Thi Lich.

San said that hat xoan would be protected if the young artists were well trained.

He noted that the promotion of the xoan heritage of the Hung Vuong worship religion, which was recognised as one of the world's intangible heritages in 2012, should be connected to the development of tourism through performances of xoan singing troupes.

This should be done from 2016 to 2020.

"We will try to share the hat xoan in international exchanges. We aim to fully restore the traditional xoan festivities by 2020," San added.

Xoan singing, or hat xoan, is a genre of Vietnamese folk music performed in the spring, during the first two months of the Lunar New Year or Tet in the northern province of Phu Tho.

Gia ra festival – unique custom of Cor people

“Gia ra” is the biggest festival in a year for the Cor ethnic minority group, who live mainly in the central province of Quang Ngai’s Tay Tra and Tra Bong districts as they mark the end of a rice crop, traditionally lasting one year.

The Gia ra festival, usually taking place from the 10th to the 11th month on the lunar calendar, is important to them just like the Lunar New Year holiday to the Kinh people, the ethnic majority group in Vietnam. It is different from the “com moi”(new rice) ceremony, which marks the start of the harvest time.

After harvesting rice and placing all the rice grains in the storage hut, the village elderly will choose good days for the festival, intended as an occasion for all villagers to show their gratitude to gods who gave them a bumper crop and have some leisure time after hardworking days.

On the day before the festival, the head of the family will wrap some rice grains in wild banana leaves, putting one of these parcels at the rice storage hut and bringing home the other to invite the rice soul to his house.

The family’s head will rub grains in his hands and then put them on each family member’s head to wish for good luck in the coming year. Women in the village gather to make glutinous rice cakes wrapped in “dot” leaves to offer to ancestors and the gods of rivers, streams, mountains, and forests.

At dawn of the first day of the festival, the family’s head will invite gods and ancestors to join his family during the three-day festival. He and his eldest son will sit in front of the altar full of offerings such as rat meat, rice cakes, and alcohol, and say the prayers for three times, namely “Mo Huyt am ba” (Mistress Huyt gives rice), “Mo Rit am ba” (Mistress Rit gives rice), and “Mo Crai am ba” (Mistress Crai gives rice). Then, they will place some cooked glutinous rice grains on family members’ heads in order to keep the rice soul.

The Cor people believe that female gods are busy from early morning like women, so rituals must be done early so that they can begin their workday soon. Meanwhile, rituals worshipping male gods and ancestors are usually done after 8am.

After worshipping male gods, a ritual will be held to move the rice god from the house to the rice storage hut. For this purpose, nine knots will be tied in a white thread resembling a ladder for the rice god to climb to the rice storage hut on the field to watch over the crop.

In the following days, more rituals will be conducted to pay respect to different gods praying for prosperity, good harvest and good animal breeding

The Cor people also believe that the more guests a family receives during the Gia ra festival, the luckier they are in the new year. Therefore, local residents always warmly welcome guests, and people from nearby villages also come to visit and wish one another a happy new year.

During Gia ra, natives also organise folk games such as archery, wrestling, javelin, cake making, and rice pounding, along with singing and dancing performances with traditional musical instruments like Amap, a small panpipe used only by Cor women, and gongs.

In the past, each family took turn to celebrate Gia ra festival, making the festival last for one or even two months in a village. Nowadays, Gia ra has become much simpler and takes place for only three days. It is also a chance to discuss preparations for a new rice crop.

Korean stars enthral Hanoi audience

A number of famous Korean stars enthralled Hanoi audience with their interesting performances at Taekwon-Pop programme which was held in Indochina Plaza shopping centre in Hanoi on December 28.

The event, featuring Taekwondo and K-pop culture, consisted of two main parts, Taekwondo activities and a night festival.

Taekwondo activities started at 1pm, involving Korean comic artist Lee Kwang Deuk. The programme included a Taekwondo class and Taekwondo talent contest for audiences.

A night festival began at 6pm with performances of champions of K-pop Contests and K-pop FC Festivals. Particularly, invited guests from the RoK including singers Jung Sung Hwan, YJB, boyband NOM, and girlband Switch, also gave their first show in Vietnam.

Park Nark Jong, director of the Korean Cultural Centre said that the event is a gift for Vietnamese audiences who have contributed to the success of the cultural exchange activities between Vietnam and the RoK over the past year.    

Researcher releases book on Mong ethnic minority

A new book on the Mong ethnic group has been published by the World Publishers.

Author Nguyen Manh Tien spent three years travelling through northern mountainous regions to explore the Mong people's way of life and language.

The book is titled Nhung Dinh Nui Du Ca, which roughly translates as "Singing while Travelling over Mountains".

Japan drum band to perform for culture fest

Japanese drum band Bati-Holic will perform in Ha Noi and the central city of Thanh Hoa between January 7 and 10 as part of the Japan Cultural Day.

The band performed in Ha Noi and Hue last April. Their powerful drum performances attracted large audiences in Viet Nam.

Bati-Holic were formed in 2004 in Kyoto where Japanese culture and the traditions were born, and combine the shinobue (Japanese flute) with wadaiko (traditional Japanese percussion).

The group bring a contemporary twist to the music using traditional instruments.

The concert in Ha Noi will be held at the Youth Theatre, 11 Ngo Thi Nham Street, at 8pm on January 7. Free tickets will be available at the Japan Foundation, 27 Quang Trung Street, from 2pm on January 2.

Two concerts in Thanh Hoa will take place on January 9 and 10 in Lam Son Square.

Seminar to discuss central region's traditional art

An international seminar on bai choi singing will be held on January 13 in Quy Nhon City in the central province of Binh Dinh.

Bai choi singing usually takes place outdoors while playing cards. — Photo hoianworldheritage.org.vn

The seminar is being held to introduce and popularise the traditional art form, which originated in the central region of Viet Nam.

The two-day event will gather foreign researches from France, Germany, Sweden, South Korea and Laos and Vietnamese culture researchers from nine provinces and cities that are home to this folk art.

The participants will discuss themes related to the history and culture of the central region from the Quang Binh to Khanh Hoa provinces as well as bai choi singing and the relationship between traditional art and literature.

A proposal on ways to preserve and restore bai choi will be tabled at the seminar. The participants will also make a comparison between bai choi singing and similar genres around the world.

The art form is often practised by the people during the Lunar New Year Festival.

The seminar will be held by the Viet Nam Institute of Musicology and Binh Dinh Province's Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

Millions head to Central Highlands during tourism year

Six million visitors came to the Central Highlands this year, National Tourism Year organisers have announced at a ceremony in Da Lat.

Tourism promotion programmes brought both foreign and domestic tourists, giving the locality the chance to turn tourism into a key economic sector, minister of culture, sports and tourism Hoang Tuan Anh said on Saturday at the ceremony, which also featured an art show called "Love for the Central Highlands".

During the year, the culture ministry and the local authorities organised more than 70 culture, sport and tourism programmes in the provinces of Dak Lak, Gia Lai, Kon Tum, Dak Nong and Lam Dong, where Da Lat is located. The programmes spotlighted traditional instruments, folk singing, costumes, gongs, elephant racing and Lam Dong tea.

Next year's tours emphasise nature, including forest- and sea-exploring tours and flower admiring excursions.

The number of visitors to the area rose 14 per cent from last year. They included 400,000 foreigners, a 7 per cent increase. Total income from tourism reached VND10 billion (US$4.7 million), a 12 per cent up from last year.

Da Lat, which hosted most of the programmes, gathered 4.8 million visitors, 14.4 per cent more than last year.

At the ceremony, organisers handed the hosting flag to representatives of the central province of Thanh Hoa, which will host next year's tourism programmes focusing on connecting heritage sites.

Film depicts Japanese teacher's move to VN

Viet Nam Film Studio and its Japanese partner Agro Picture next week wrap up shooting of a feature film based on the biography of a Japanese woman living in Viet Nam.

Cuoc Song Moi O Viet Nam (New Life in Viet Nam) has been written by Uichiro Kitazato, who is also knowledgeable about Vietnamese history and lifestyles, based on Miyuki Komatsu's book.

Meritorious Artist Tat Binh, one of the film's two executive directors, said his crew, both Vietnamese and Japanese, spent several months preparing for filming.

"We worked with dozens of experts in language, costume design, and props to improve their knowledge and understanding how all of these fields in the film are important technically and socially.

"Our film is a story of human culture."

The film is about the life of a Japanese teacher, Shaso Misao, who decided to take her 82-year-old mother to live in Ha Noi.

The mother, Sasho Shizue, feels completely at home in the city.

Both make many friends and learn about Vietnamese culture from neighbours.

"Before writing the film's script, I spent days reading books and magazines on Viet Nam and its history, culture and people," scriptwriter Kitazato said.

"I discovered that Vietnamese are simple and compassionate."

The film has 37 Japanese actors, cameramen and sound and light effects specialists besides some talented Vietnamese actors like Tran Nhuong, Tran Hanh, Mai Chau, Diem Loc and Lan Huong.

Post-production will be completed in Ha Noi early next year.

Folk music research wins award

Research on southern folk music (don ca tai tu) by a teacher from Long An Province, Vo Truong Ky, won the Viet Nam Folk Arts and Letters Association's highest award this year.

According to Prof To Ngoc Thanh, chairman of the association, Ky's work provided comprehensive information on the art's origins, history, genres and distinguished performers for other researchers who are working on making a scientific dossier of the art. The researchers will submit don ca tai tu for UNESCO recognition on the Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

Thanh said that the more than 90 research works submitted for the annual awards focused on monitory ethnic groups. Titles of the papers include: Legends on Families of Ta Oi Ethnic Group, Traditional Culture of Thuy Group in Tuyen Quang Province, Popular Quiz of Ba Na People in Gia Lai Province, Marriage of Brau Group in Viet Nam, and Traditional Culture and Legends of Pa Hi Group in Thua Thien Hue Province.

Earlier this year, the association gave the honourable title of Art Master and Artisan to nine folk art practitioners across the country who have handed down traditional songs, instruments, ceremonies and languages to younger generations.

Book on Hue culture introduced

A Hue researcher released a photo book on art during the time of the Nguyen Lords to fill a gap in knowledge about Hue cultural history.

The book that Nguyen Huu Thong and his associates published is titled Art in the Time of Nguyen Lords. Nguyen Lords were predecessors of the Nguyen dynasty (1802-1945), and expanded the country's territory in the south.

"Many studies have been published on the heritage of the Nguyen dynasty, but studies on the lords are rare," Thong said during a ceremony launching the book. "We expect this book could fill part of the research gap."

The book's authors planned to research all art and culture during the lords' time, but many of the vestiges of the time period have been destroyed, which has made their work more difficult. Data for the book was obtained in Quang Tri, Thua Thien-Hue and Quang Nam provinces.

Experts said the book would add to existing resources on Hue culture.     

Books on student activists released

Two books on the patriotic movement by Sai Gon's student activists during the war pediod between 1954 and 1975 in South Viet Nam have been released in HCM City.

Chung Ta Da Dung Day (We Were Standing Up) has been compiled by members of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union in HCM City.

Hoang Don Nhat Tan, one of the authors, said it took three years to collect all the documents and complete the two books.

They feature memoirs of witnesses who had participated in the anti-war movements in Sai Gon-Gia Dinh and are still alive, and rare historical documents on the patriotic movement by Sai Gon students, he added.

The series has been published by the Tre (Youth) Publishing House to mark the 65th anniversary of Vietnamese Students Day.

Each book costs VND540,000 and is available in bookstores across the country.

VNA/VNS/VOV